The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1887-07-21
SHIFTING OF TRADE AND AGRI-
CULTURAL CENTRES.

accustomed to rapid commercial devel-
opment that the sudden growth of this
Or that particular section excites nc
great attention. When, however, the
advance of one centre is made at the
expense of another, the al is some
what different and as the national
development becomes more complete
and competition keener, instances of
this nature are likely to multiply.
Westward still the course of our com
mercial empire runs, and the American
hog seems to be taking the lead in the
march Of our civilization toward the
base of the Rocky Mountains. At the
same time this tendency appears to be
accompanied by a return movement of
our agricultural productions eastward
from the Mississippi River, beyond
which the cost of transportation of raw
material has raised a barrier to the
Immediate further march westward,of
agricultural progress. To demonstrate
by statistics that we have for the pres
ent reached the limit of profitable west
ward emigration, and that the centre
Of agricultural production is now halt
ing, if moving east from the Missis-
sippi River, while the products Of live
stock is moving west, we present the
following interesting figures on the.
hog and corn crops: >sleG I'LL. Iii,
The seven great corn andhog States,
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri,
Kansas and Nebraska, had on Jan. l,
1887, 21,347,736 hogs of all ages, of
which the three first-named States east
Of the Mississippi River had $780, 37,
and the four last-named States west Of
the same 1850, 500, Of a total for the
whole United States of A, 6l2, 836.
These same States in 1886 had %, 1885,
678 hogs on Jan. l Of which the first
named three had 9,183,617 and the
last four Ii, COS, 061, of a total for the
whole United States of 46,092, 043.
In 1885 these seven States raised o.
25S, 1872 hogs, of which the first three
1885, 20 and, the last four II, 1913, 800,
of a total for the United States of 49,
l42,557. These figures show a loss in
the three States east of the Mississippi
River of nearly 100000 in 1887,
compared with 1886, on a crop that
was practically the same in both years,
while the four States west of the Mis-
sissippi showed nearly the same in
both years.
The corn crops of these same States
for the past three years were 1,O0O,-
214, 600 in 1886, of which the three
States east of the Mississippi raised
424, 81 900 and the four west $751;
&c., 600 bushels, out of the total crop
for the whole United States of 1865
AL, 900. In 1885 those States raised
1,25O,330,00 900 bushels, of which 5l2,-
$4,000 bushels we're raised east and
737,373,0O0 west of the Mississippi,
out of a total crop of 1896, l76, 900
bushels. In 1884 these seven States
raised l,l75,744, 900, of which 434,-
694, 900 east and TAI. O5O, 900, west of
the Mississippi, of a total of l, 1885, $685.
43O bushels. Comparing the crops of
1886 and 1884, there was only a fall
ing off of 10, 900, 900 in the three
States east of the Mississippi, while
the four west of it fell off l66, 900, 900,
although the shortage of the whole
crop Of 1886, compared with 1884, was
only 80, 600, 900. Yet we find that
the hog crop in the three States east
Of the Mississippi fell off nearley L.
0O0, 900 in 1886, with only 10, 600, 900
deficit in the corn crop; while the hog
crop of the four States west of the
Mississippi held its own last year, al
though the shortage in the corn crop
for those States was l66, 600, 900, or
SO, 1000, 900 more than the shortage of
the whole United States. a4 rr0zss
This is a remarkable showing, and
seems to prove that the centre of the
hog belt is not only moving west fas-
ter than the corn belt, but that the
latter is at least stationary, if not re-
ceding east. The reason of this is OBJ
vious, as the freight on the raw ma
terial or corr west Of the Mississippi
eats up the profit in raising it, while
in the condensed form of hogs this
transportation tax is materially redu-
ced even on the live hog, which repre-
sents about seven bushels of corn,
weighing ffty-six pounds to the bushel
to a matured year-old hog weighing
over 200 pounds. In the manufac-
tured form of hog products this tax is
still further reduced by the reduction
of thirty to thirty-three per cent. in
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